Royal family carry on as normal despite Duchess going into labour

On a day when total strangers flocked to St Mary’s Hospital to seek out any
scrap of news of the royal pregnancy, the Royal family calmly carried on
with their scheduled engagements, just as they have always done.

The Prince of Wales, waiting to become a grandfather for the first time, was on his way to York when he was told that the Duchess of Cambridge had gone into labour.

As he arrived at the National Railway Museum by steam train for the first of four engagements during the day, he was inundated with messages of good will from members of the public, but told them he knew no more than anyone else.

“Absolutely nothing at the moment – we’re waiting,” he told one bystander who asked if there was an update.

The Prince of Wales meets crowds during a visit to the National Railway Museum in York (Lynne Cameron/PA)

Later, as he visited an abattoir near Pontefract, he said: “I’m very grateful indeed for the kind wishes for my rather slowly-approaching grandfatherhood.

“Some of you may realise that with grandfatherhood comes, in four months’ time, old age pensionerhood.”

But he added that he hoped he would have a long shelf-life.

The Queen, meanwhile, spent the morning at Windsor Castle with the Duke of Edinburgh, who is still convalescing from surgery, before travelling to Buckingham Palace in the afternoon in keeping with her usual routine, where she spent the day “going through her red boxes and doing her paperwork”, an aide said.

She is hosting a reception for winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise on Tuesday, and is expected to see her great-grandchild before she leaves for her summer break at Balmoral on Friday.

Prince Harry, who has spoken of how much he is looking forward to becoming an uncle, was on duty at Wattisham airfield in Suffolk with his Army Air Corps Apache helicopter squadron.

The Earl of Wessex spent the day in Devon and Dorset, the Princess Royal was carrying out engagements in Oxfordshire and the Duke of York spent the day at home in Royal Lodge, Windsor preparing for engagements today.

The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, at around 5.30am, when she was already in labour.

The Duke of Cambridge was with her when she arrived by car, and will remain by her side until their first child is born.

There were frantic scenes outside the gates of Buckingham Palace this afternoon when the Queen arrived, much to the delight of those waiting patiently for baby news.

The royal vehicle drove through the gates and out of the view of members of the public, eager to catch a glimpse of the monarch.

Scores of people surged to the gates, screaming "the Queen!", while others reached into their pockets to grab their camera phones in an effort to catch Her Majesty's fleeting appearance.

The Queen's arrival represented the first real movement at the palace for some hours, as crowds packed five deep in anticipation of a royal announcement.

Kensington Palace refused to say whether the Duchess, who is up to a week overdue, had been induced.

Royal protection officers are reported to have carried out a dummy run at around 10pm last night, checking which entrances were being watched by photographers, which is likely to fuel speculation that the Duchess’s admission time was planned in advance.

The Duchess was taken into St Mary’s via a side entrance of the Mary Stanford wing, which is adjacent to the Lindo, and managed to dodge the photographers who have waited since the start of the month for a glimpse of her.

Having spent the weekend at Kensington Palace, she made the five-minute journey to St Mary’s in a dark blue Ford Galaxy people carrier, with a Saab 95 back-up car following her, rather than the usual Range Rovers and Land Rover Discoveries which the couple normally use.

Aides waited until the Duchess had been seen by her medical team, led by the Queen’s former gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, and was “settled” in her private room before making the official announcement.

At 7.28pm Kensington Palace released a statement which said: "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted this morning to St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, in the early stages of labour.

"The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge."

The Prince of Wales, who will become a grandfather for the first time when the Duchess’s baby is born, was quizzed about the birth as he visited the National Railway Museum in York to mark the 75th anniversary of the Mallard locomotive.

Asked by Sky News if he knew anything about the the birth, he replied: "Absolutely nothing at the moment, we're waiting."

The Queen, who is at Windsor Castle, and Prince Harry, who is at Wattisham airfield in Suffolk with his Apache helicopter squadron, are being kept informed of events.

A spokesman for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs St Mary's Hospital, said: "During her stay at the hospital, the Duchess is being cared for by an expert team of consultants and midwives.

"It goes without saying that the whole trust wishes her well and we are exceptionally proud that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen to have their baby here."

Four members of staff from Kensington Palace are at the Lindo Wing - the Duke and Duchess’s private secretaries Miguel Head and Rebecca Deacon, and their press officers Ed Perkins and Nick Loughran.

Hundreds of members of the public gathered outside the hospital, many of them spending their time watching the media rather than waiting for the birth.

David Cameron told the BBC: "Best wishes to them, a very exciting occasion and the whole country is excited with them. So, everyone's hoping for the best."

Speaking later on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour he said had been "pretty involved" in the birth of his children.

"It's up to every family to work out how they want to do these things," he added.

"I can't claim any role in this one, I'm afraid, except one small thing - well, it's a big thing actually - which is to get all of the heads of the realms over which our Queen is Queen, to agree that whatever the sex of the baby that Will and Kate have, if it's a girl, it will be our Queen."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, tweeted: "My thoughts and prayers are with Kate and the whole family on this enormously special day."

Well-wishers from around the globe also began gathering outside Buckingham Palace, where the official announcement of the birth will be made.

Tourists armed with cameras peered hopefully through the Palace gates on the off-chance of spotting the easel, due to be placed on the forecourt detailing confirmation of the birth.

Matthew and Donna Harold, from Michigan in the United States, said they had been asked to stock up on commemorative souvenirs for friends back home during their holiday in London.

"The royal baby is front-page news every day back in the States at the moment, there is a lot of excitement," said Mrs Harold.

"I'm sure the Duchess will be pleased, as we are, that the wait looks to be finally over - particularly because being pregnant in this heat must be very hard.

"Our holiday was booked months ago, so we did not expect to be over here while the baby was happening, so we have been told to bring back as many newspapers and souvenirs with the baby on as possible."

In Australia, a set of commemorative baby stamps has already been commissioned to mark the royal birth.

Lynette Traynor, a postal worker from Melbourne who is on holiday in London, said: "We love everything to do with the royals, so the news is full of it.

"We have a set of baby stamps ready to go, as soon as it has been confirmed. We can't get enough of it."

Another visitor to the Palace, 26-year-old German Veronika Schwarz, said she thought there was greater excitement outside of England.

"We don't have anything like the Royal Family in Germany, so we are all getting quite carried away with this.

"My friends in London seem like they just want the baby to come out now, I think they are tired of waiting."

Larissa Milare, from Sao Paulo in Brazil, said she is determined to wait outside the palace gates for news.

"I will stay here," the 25-year-old said. "I really want to see the announcement for myself.

"It would be so special, I don't want to miss this. I leave England on the 28th, so I hope the birth will be before then.”